Decoy anchor

ABSTRACT

An anchor system including a tether attached to a floating decoy at a first end and a weight mounted on the tether and freely slidable to a position substantially adjacent to the floating decoy.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from provisional application U.S. Ser.No. 60/802,188, filed on May 19, 2006.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to an anchor for a floatingdecoy. More particularly, the present invention relates to an anchor fora floating decoy having a tether that attaches to the decoy and a weightthat slides on the tether.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In hunting, decoys are often used to attract game. Floating decoys aretypically dispersed on a body of water and held in place by an anchor.Existing anchors include a rope or wire that attaches to the decoy and aweight that acts as ballast fixedly attached to the end of the ropeopposite the decoy. While this setup works well for anchoring the decoyin a body of water, the disadvantages of the fixed weight and wiresystem become apparent when attempting to cast decoys or when staringthem.

With the weight fixed at one end of the rope or wire, it is difficult tocast the decoy because the weight is not concentrated at the decoy endof the line. Since the weight and decoy typically have different mass,the anchor and decoy are unbalanced, making it difficult to cast thedecoy.

Also, when storing multiple decoys, the fixed weight and wire, if leftdangling, are a common source of entanglement. It will be appreciatedthat, in the pre-dawn hours before hunting, the chore of untanglinganchors is highly undesirable. To that end, existing decoys haveaddressed this problem by providing spools on the decoy on which thewire is wrapped or by using a weight that can be attached to the decoyafter the wire has been wound on the body of the decoy. One decoyemploys a lead band as a weight that is sufficiently malleable that itmay be crimped around the neck of a duck decoy to hold it in place afterthe wire has been wrapped around the decoy's body. While these systemshelp prevent entanglement, they require considerable time to wrap andunwrap the wire.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved anchorused in connection with a floating decoy.

In light of this object, the present invention generally provides ananchor for a floating decoy, the anchor including a tether having afirst end attachable to the decoy and a second end, a stop formed at thesecond end, and a weight mounted on the tether and slidable between thefirst end and the stop.

The present invention further provides an anchor system including atether attached to a floating decoy at a first end, the tether having asecond end located distally from the first end, and a weight mounted onthe tether and slidable to a position substantially adjacent to thefloating decoy.

The present invention further provides an anchor for a floating decoy,the anchor system including a tether having a first end and a secondend, the first end being attachable to the decoy, a weight defining anaxially extending bore through which the tether extends, the weightbeing freely slideable on the tether, wherein the weight is adapted toslide to the first end of the tether when casting the decoy from thesecond end of the tether.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially-schematic, side-elevational view depicting ananchor according to the concepts of the present invention that includesa tether having a sliding weight mounted thereon attached to a floatabledecoy, where the anchor and decoy are depicted in a position for castingand where the weight has moved on the tether to a position substantiallyadjacent to the decoy so that the decoy may be swung and released tocast it in a body of water;

FIG. 2 is a partially-schematic, side-elevational view similar to FIG. 1depicting the decoy on a body of water, where the weight has sliddownward on the tether to an anchor position, as depicted by the arrow;

FIG. 3 is a partially-schematic, side-elevational view depictingmultiple anchors according to the concepts of the present invention,each attached to a decoy and collectively hung on a peg by theirrespective loops formed in an end of the tether opposite the point atwhich the tether attaches to the decoy; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, partially-schematic, partially-sectioned,side-elevational view depicting attachment of the anchor according tothe concepts of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A decoy anchor according to the concepts of the present invention isgenerally indicated by the number 10 in the accompanying drawings. Decoyanchor 10 includes a tether 12 having a first end 14 and a second end 16located distally from first end 14. The first end 14 attaches to afloating decoy D. The second end 16 may include a loop 18 that isgraspable by the user for the purpose of transporting decoy D as ithangs from tether 12. A weight 20 is attached to tether 12 so that itslides along the length of tether 12. To that end, weight 20 may beprovided with a bore 22 through which tether 12 passes. Bore 22 may beformed in the weight 20, as shown, or be defined by a ring or othermember attached to weight 20 for purposes of connecting to tether 12.Bore 22 may extend axially, forming a straight bore, to facilitate freesliding of weight 20 on tether 12.

To aid the user in dispersing decoy D within a body of water, weight 20slides to a casting position (FIG. 1) where it rests against the decoy Dor substantially adjacent thereto. In this position, the user may swingdecoy D while holding second end 16 of tether 12 before releasing thesecond end 16 and casting decoy D into the body of water. As shown inFIG. 2, when decoy D lands in the body of water, weight 20 slidesdownward from casting position 20′ on tether 12 toward second end 16 toanchor decoy D in the body of water. It will be appreciated that tether12 may include a stop 24 that holds weight 20 in a selected position ontether 12 and generally prevents weight 20 from sliding off of tether12. Stop 24 is generally spaced from first end 14 and, as shown, may belocated at or near second end 16 to maximize the anchoring effect ofweight 20. It will be appreciated that stop 24 may include anything thatsuitably fixes the position of weight 20 on tether 12, including, forexample, a knot, a bead of material, or other impediment affixed to orformed in the tether 12 having a diameter larger than that of bore 22.To that end, as shown in FIG. 2, loop 18 may act as a stop. The depictedexample, however, is not to be considered limiting.

The tether 12 may be attached to decoy D in any known manner, includingtying the tether 12 directly to decoy D or by using a fastener 26.Fastener 26 may be any device that facilitates attachment of tether 12to decoy D, including mechanical fasteners such as nails, staples,hooks, and clips, among others. In the example shown in FIG. 4, areleasable fastener 26, which includes a spring-like clip, is used toallow anchor 10 to be easily attached to or detached from decoy D. Useof this type of fastener facilitates retrofitting anchor 10 to existingdecoys D.

In the example shown, fastener 26 may be attached to the first end 14 oftether 12 by threading the first end 14 of the tether 12 through an eye28 on fastener 26 and then securing the first end 14 to the tether 12.As shown, a clasp 30 may be used for this purpose forming a loop 32 ateye 28. Alternatively, first end 14 may simply be tied to tether 12 toachieve the same effect. Other forms of attachment may be used as well.

For simplicity, the term “clasp” will be used to collectively refer toany fastener, knot, or other mechanism used to form a loop in tether 12.It will further be understood that the method of attaching fastener 26to tether 12 is not limiting, as other forms of attachment may be used.

Fastener 26 optionally includes a joint 36 housing a rotatable member,which in the example shown is eye 28, such that eye 28 rotatesindependently of a clip 40 that releasably attaches to decoy D. In thisway, decoy 1) is free to rotate independently of tether 12. Suchindependent rotation is believed to enhance the appearance of decoy D inthe body of water and may facilitate dispersion of decoy D, as bythrowing. It also may improve the storability of decoy D by allowingdecoy D to rotate without twisting 20 tether 12 when decoy D is hung byloop 18 formed in second end 16 of tether 12. While in the example shownthe rotatable member is attached to tether 12, it will be appreciatedthat the rotatable member could be attached to decoy D to achieve thesame effect.

In terms of storage, allowing weight 20 to slide downward substantiallyadjacent to decoy D facilitates transport and storage of decoy D bypreventing weight 20 from becoming entangled or otherwise interferingwith the gathering of multiple decoys by loop 18 formed at second end16. For example, the user may grasp several decoys by their respectiveloops 18 formed at second end 16 of tether 12, causing weight 20 toslide downward toward first end 14, where decoy D attaches to tether 12.With weight 20 substantially adjacent to decoy D, second end 16 of eachtether 12 is free to be gathered by the user and may be convenientlyheld by loop 18.

Existing decoys maintain the weight at the far end of tether 12 relativeto the decoy. When storing the decoy, the dangling weight and tethersmay become entangled, causing significant delay when retrieving thedecoys. To avoid this problem, users will wrap the tether around thedecoy and attach or tie the weight to the decoy. As a result, whenpreparing to use several decoys, the user must unwind each tether. Whilethis technique avoids entanglement to an extent, it still requires asignificant amount of time to unwind the tethers and prepare the decoysfor use. It will be appreciated that since the decoys must be dispersedduring pre-dawn hours, time is of the essence.

In contrast, when using the present invention, the user may simply graspseveral decoys by their respective loops 18 formed in second end 16 oftether 12, which may conveniently be hung on a single hook or peg (FIG.3), and take them to the body of water to which they are to bedispersed. Since, when the anchor 10 is hung by loop 18, the weight 20slides down against decoy D, the weight 20 does not need to be attachedor tied to decoy D. Also, the contact between decoys D separates theweights 20 and tethers 12 from each other, significantly reducing oreliminating entanglement.

To disperse decoy D according to the concepts of the present invention,the user would grasp second end 16 of tether 12, allowing weight 20 toslide substantially adjacent to decoy D (FIG. 1) so that substantiallyall of the combined weight of weight 20 and decoy D is located distallyfrom second end 16, and then cast decoy D by second end 16. in contrast,existing decoys whose weight is fixed to the second end of the anchorare much more cumbersome in that the weight is not concentrated at asingle end of the tether, making it difficult to cast the decoy.

Tether 12 may be any elongate, flexible member, including, for example,a string, rope, cable, wire, or strap, among others. In the exampleshown, a nylon cable was used for purposes of durability and to providea surface on which weight 20 would freely slide. This example is notlimiting, as other materials and types of tethers may be used to achievesuitable results.

Also, tether 12 may be of any length. In the example shown, a length ofgreater than twelve inches was used, and, in particular, the depictedexample had a length of approximately twenty-four inches. Thisparticular length is not limiting, as the length may vary to a greatextent, depending upon the desired radius of decoy dispersion and thetype of body of water in which the decoy is to be used.

Weight 20 may be any object having sufficient mass to suitably anchor adecoy, as is known in the art. Similarly, weight 20 may be constructedof any material. In the example shown, a substantially cylindrical leadweight having rounded ends was used to provide a compact, aerodynamicweight 20. It is believed that the use of a compact, aerodynamic weight20 will facilitate casting of the decoys. This example is not limiting,as other weights, as described above, may be used to achieve suitableresults.

While it is preferable to have weight 20 slidable to a point where it issubstantially adjacent to decoy D, suitable results Have been foundwhere weight 20 slides more than halfway down tether 12 so that it iscloser to first end 14 of tether 12 than it is to second end 16 oftether 12. To that end, stop 24 may be located at least half way betweenthe first end 14 and second end 16 measured relative to second end 16.

To prevent damage to decoy D, another stop may be provided on tether 12to prevent weight 20 from slamming into decoy D as it descends on tether12. In the example shown, clasp 30 used to form the loop 32 in first end14 of tether 12 acts as a stop.

It will be appreciated that other modifications and substitutions may bemade to the described embodiment without departing from the spirit ofthe present invention.

Therefore, for an appreciation of the scope of the present invention,reference should be made to the following claims.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A decoy anchor kit comprising: a floatable decoy; atether having a first end and second end; a loop formed in said secondend and secured by a clasp; a fastener mounted on said first end of saidtether, said fastener including a clip attachable to the floatabledecoy; a weight attachable to said tether and adapted to slide freely onsaid tether between said fastener and said clasp.
 22. The kit of claim21, further comprising a hook member adapted to receive said loop ofsaid decoy anchor, wherein said decoy anchor is transportable to a bodyof water on said hook.
 23. A decoy anchor system comprising: a floatablewaterfowl decoy; a tether having a first end and a second end; afastener carried on said first end of said tether, said fastener havinga clip adapted to releasably attach said tether to said floatablewaterfowl decoy; a loop formed in said second end of said tether andsecured by a clasp, wherein said clasp acts as a stop; a weight mountedon said tether and freely slidable between said clasp and said decoy,wherein elevation of said loop causes said weight to slide adjacent tosaid decoy concentrating the mass of said weight and said decoy at thefirst end of said tether.
 24. A decoy anchor system comprising: afloating decoy simulating a waterfowl; a tether having a first end and asecond end and an intermediate portion in between said first and secondends, said tether being attached to said decoy at said first end; aweight supported on said tether, said weight defining a bore extendingthere through adapted to slidably receive said tether; a fastenerattached to said first end of said tether and adapted to attach saidtether to said floating decoy, wherein said fastener is larger than saidbore and acts as a stop adjacent to said decoy; and a loop formed at thesecond end of said tether, wherein said loop forms a second stop, saidsecond stop having a diameter larger than said bore of said weight;wherein said fastener is a swivel and releasably attaches said tether tosaid decoy.
 25. The decoy anchor system of claim 23, wherein said tetherincludes a nylon cable.
 26. The kit of claim 21, further comprising ahook member adapted to receive said loop of said decoy anchor, whereinsaid decoy anchor is transportable to a body of water on said hook.